Water-skee.



HUGO J. ANDERSON, 0F MELROSE, MASSACHUSETTS.

WATER-SKEE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 10, 1911.

Patented Jan. 16,1912.

Serial No. 653,841.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGO J. ANDERSON, of Melrose, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Water-Skees, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to water skees, the object of the invention being to provide a new and improved water skee for enabling a person to move forward on a lake or other body of water, and arranged for convenient attachment to the foot of the operator, each skee having suflicient buoyancy to properly support the operator on the water and to enable the operator to glide rapidly over the surface without danger of sliding backward and be able to steer the skees by means controlled by the feet.

ith the above object in View, the invention consists in the water skees hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description.

comprises an elongated, hollow body 1,

which may be made of thin, light, strong material, such as spruce wood, or any other suitable material. The body is provided with a longitudinal rib 2, and transverse ribs 4. The forward end of the body is pointed, and the rear end is preferably somewhat blunt with its under side curved to reduce the resistance of the water. The body may be made of any desired length, but should be of sufiicient buoyancy to support the entire weight of the operator. I have found skees twelve feet long to be suitable for ordinary purposes.

. In order to enable the skees to be readily transported from place to place, I prefer to make the body in' two sections or parts, a and b, of substantially equal length, connected by a hinge 6 on the bottom. The two portions of the body are held in extended position, that is, in the position shown in the drawing, by any suitable means. A convenient means comprises a hook 8, hinged at one end upon a rod 10, mounted on the rear part b and having its other end engaging a rod 12 on the forward section a. By disengaging the hook 8 from the rod 12, the front section a can be folded back upon the rear part b, and the pair of folded skees secured together by a rope or strap. Thus the bundle of skees is only one half as long as when opened out ready for use, and being light they can be readily carried about or put on board cars.

A pit 18 is arranged about midway the length of the skee, at the front end of the rear section b. This pit is for the reception of the foot which is intended to rest upon a foot-plate 20 within the body of the skee.

This foot plate is located so that the skee? shall be stable when supporting a person. A pair of spring blades or clips 22, are fastened to the inside of the sides of the pit, and are curved upwardly and inwardly so as to embrace the forepart of the foot of the operator and aid in keeping it in position in the pit. In case of accident the foot can be readily withdrawn, since the clips are so constructed as to readily yield.

In order to prevent backward sliding and to aid in steering, I provide one or more wings 24, hinged upon rods 26 on one side of the body of the skee. In the present instance I have shown two wings, which are pivotally connected by a link 28, so that they will move in unison. These wings are on the outer sides of the skees when in use. An arm 30 is carried on a shaft 32 journaled in bearings 34 on,the rear end of the pit 18. A bent crank-arm 36 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 32, and extends down over the outside of the pit with its lower end 38 in proximity to the deck of the body. A lever 40 is pivoted at 42, so that one end 44 is in proximity to the end 38 of the crank arm 36. A pin 46 projects upward from the end 44 of the lever in position to'be engaged by the end 38 of said crank arm. The outer end of the lever 40 is adapted to engage a pin 48 which pro: jects upward from the upper edge of the wing 24. The parts are normally in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the wings lie close to the side of the body of the skee to oifer the least resistance to its motionl WVhen a stroke is taken, any backward movement of the skee causes the wings to automatically open, until they encounter the stops 49.

If the operator desires to hold the wings out, to stop the progress of the skee or for steering purposes, it is merely necessary to swing the heel of'the foot outwardly against the arm 30, which then assumes the position shown in Fig. 3. The end 38 of the crank arm 36 swings the lever 40, and with it the" wings 2e into the position shown in Fig. 3. Either foot may be thus swung, according to the direction in which the operator desires to go. A coiled spring 50 is connected at one end to the arm 38, and at its other end to the deck of the rear part b. This spring tends to return the parts to normal position when the heel of the operator is swung back to normal.

The wings 2A are shown near the rear of the pit 18, but they could be located farther to the rear and operated by a wire or rod connecting with the crank arm 36, if desired.

To enable the operator to attain a greater speed, and to aid him in steering, a paddle can be employed similar to that used with canoes. And, if desired, a seat can be placed across the space between the skees so that Tthe operator can sit down and paddle.

Having explained the nature of my invention and described one form of device in which it may be embodied, what I claim is 1. A water skee, comprising a body composed of sect-ions hinged together, means for maintaining said sections in extended position, said body being provided with means for receiving the foot of the operator, one or more wings pivotally mounted on said body, and means arranged to be operated by the foot of the operator for swinging said wings outwardly, substantially as described. 2. A water skee, comprising a hollow body provided with means for receiving the foot of the operator, one or more wings pivotally mounted on one side of said body,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

and means operable by the foot of the operator for swinging said wings outwardly to aid in steering theskee, substantially as described.

3. A water skee, comprising a hollow body, apit in said body for receiving the foot of the operator, a crank arm extending into said pit and operable by the foot, one or more wings mounted on said body, and means cooperating with said crank arm to control the operation of said wings, substantially as described.

4. A water skee, comprising a hollow body, a pit in said body for receiving the foot of the operator, a crank arm operable by the foot of the operator within the pit, a lever operatively related to said crank arm, and one or more wings arranged to be moved by said lever, substantially as described.

5. A water skee, comprising a hollow body, a pit in said body for receiving the foot of the operator, a crank arm operable by the foot of the operator within the pit, a lever operatively related to said crank arm, one or more wings arranged to be moved by said lever, and means for restoring the crank arm to normal position, substantially as described.

6. A water skee, comprising a hollow body composed of sections hinged together, means for maintaining said sections in extended position, a pit in one of said sections for receiving the foot of the operator, a pair of spring clips arranged to engage the foot of the operator, and means operable by the foot of the operator for steering the skee, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HUGO J. ANDERSON.

WVitnesses WVILLIAM J. SPERL, HENRY F. HURLBURT, Jr.v

Washington, D. G. 

